The instant the words left my mouth, I regretted them.
Rhodes flinched as if I’d struck him.
I threw my arms out. “My whole life,” I said, voice cracking, “I’ve been used—by every single person I let in.” I pressed my fingers hard against the left side of my chest, as if I could hold together the pieces of my breaking heart. “I thought you were different, Rhodes. Itrustedyou. I let you in.”
I turned away before the tears came.
“I let you walk away once, and I swore I’d never let that happen again.” His voice came low and raw, trembling with something that stopped me cold.
“Fate has proven that you are the other piece of me, Scarlet,” he continued. “I defied my father’s orders for the first time in my life just to stay by your side. He trained me—molded me into a weapon, something he could wield when the time came.
“The Glade has been working with Kalluri to cover up the Barrens’ mistakes for years. But what he doesn’t know is how we’ve been taking Tyrians hostage, torturing them for information onwhat Tyria knows of the Mareki that we don’t. Pa is relentless in his hunt for the Mareki’s Key, trying to forge the Essence back together.”
A tear ran down my cheek. My breath hitched at the broken love he still held for his father—focused on a path that would cost him everything. Elias Wylder was fighting for power and paying with his own son.
“I’ve blindly followed orders since the day I became a mage,” he said. “I had no reason to live… until the day you walked into the brew station. Your fire, your fight stole my breath—and never gave it back.”
I turned slowly, meeting his gaze—his beautiful eyes carrying the weight of years spent surviving instead of living.
“You inspired me to take my life back,” he said, voice low and steady. “While I still have time.”
My heart stopped.
“My father ordered me to return to the Glade,” he said, “but I refused him for the first time. I finally stood up for myself because you gave me the power to.”
Warm tears slid down my cheeks. He caught them gently with the pads of his thumbs.
“I don’t know how much longer fate will give us,” he whispered. “But I won’t stop fighting for you. Not until my very last day.”
My throat tightened painfully.
“I’ll be your enemy. I’ll be your damnation. Whatever you need me to be, I’ll be. Just let me be something to you while I’m still here.”
A strangled gasp tore from me. “Don’t you dare give up.”
His eyes widened with relief.
“Don’t you dare—” My breath hitched. “Give up. If there’s one thing I’ve learned, it’s that fate can fuck right off. You weren’t responsible for what happened to the Mareki. And you will not be taken from this world because of it. We will fix this. We will change fate.”
He took another step closer, but I lifted a hand, pressing it to his chest.
“That doesn’t mean I can forgive you for the lies, Rhodes,” I said, my voice shaking. “I can’t take any more secrets. Any more hidden truths. I’m barely holding on.”
The pain and suffering in his eyes melted into pure yearning.
I stepped back slowly. “I’m barely holding on.” I nodded, hoping that gesture could carry the conflicted weight in my heart.
Rhodes nodded back. For a brief moment, his hand reached out, fingers grazing my wrist—a silent plea, a touch heavy with everything left unsaid. I caught his gaze one last time, then turned away, putting one foot in front of the other.
Chapter 20
The crunch of leaves under my boots echoed in the night. I passed Nash as he was gathering firewood and told him I just needed a minute of space, that I wouldn’t venture too far. He didn’t ask questions, just laid a hand firmly on my shoulder and squeezed.
There was only one person in the world I felt would accept me for the way I was feeling right then.
But she was gone.
Nash was more like his sister than I had thought possible. He was the stern soldier, prepared for any battle on the surface, but I could sense the happy-go-lucky boy underneath—someone who may have grown up a little too soon but hadn’t forgotten the part of himself that Laney adored.
